Languagle #24: Kyrgyz
Билим — адамдын канаты
Bilim — adamdyn kanaty
"Knowledge is a person's wings."
What it means
Knowledge is what lets a person rise, the way wings let a bird fly. It is a common saying about the value of learning and education.
How to say it
bi-LIM a-dam-DUHN ka-na-TUH
Kyrgyz stresses the last syllable. The ы in адамдын and канаты is a short 'uh'.
Word by word
- Билим bi-LIM: knowledge
- адамдын a-dam-DUHN: a person's (адам, person)
- канаты ka-na-TUH: wings (канат, wing)
The dash stands in for 'is', which Kyrgyz leaves out in sentences like this.
Where it was found
Kyrgyz calls a proverb a makal (макал). This one is from Kyrgyz Wikiquote.
Similar sayings
- English: Knowledge is power
How to recognise Kyrgyz
Kyrgyz uses Cyrillic plus just three extra letters: ң, ө and ү. Kazakh has those and six more, including ә, қ and ұ. Mongolian has ө and ү but not ң. Kyrgyz writes long vowels as doubles, as in баатыр (hero), and words often end in -дын, -нын or -дар.
About the Kyrgyz language
Kyrgyz is a Turkic language spoken by around 5 million people, mostly in Kyrgyzstan, with communities in China and Tajikistan. It is closely related to Kazakh. It is written in Cyrillic in Kyrgyzstan and in an Arabic-based script in China. Kyrgyz is home to the Epic of Manas, one of the longest epic poems in the world, traditionally recited from memory by performers called manaschi.
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